Is "Frankening" worth it...???>>>

[ajs914]

There's obviously a reason we buy a watch with "Rolex" or "Panerai" on the dial. For some it is to "fool" others or give off a certain status, and I think deep down there's probably at least a little of that in all of us, if not we'd just buy Invictas.

This is a fundamental questions I haven't figured the answer out to yet. Why do I care that the watch says Rolex on the dial? The best I can come up with so far is that these reps are like lithographs to me. I can't afford a real Picasso but I could afford a print to enjoy. It's the same so far with reps.

In the end it's about jewelery not time keeping. If it was about time keeping, I'd just use my iPhone or computer to tell the time. That then leads me to, if piece of jewelery A is 99.5% identical to piece of jewelery B (the gen), then what is the point of spending your money on B? I guess I'm making the anti-Fraken case here. Still, in the end it's about jewelery and bling and wrist decoration and all that goes with that. Nothing more. So, whatever floats your boat!

 

[R2D4]

IMNSFHO, they're preparing for an "Ebay" offering!!!!

Not me. I would do it because it completes the package. I like my watches to come in a nice box when I receive it. Have I done this for my reps? No sir. I don't have the room for it and there is a very small amount of people, like me who would even appreciate it so I would inevitably have to re-sell the box separately anyway. Now when I do buy Gens, I like them to have all the original accessories including the watch. But maybe your right, there are some asshat's out there who would do as you suggest and that would give us all a bad name. Sucks.

This is a fundamental questions I haven't figured the answer out to yet. Why do I care that the watch says Rolex on the dial? The best I can come up with so far is that these reps are like lithographs to me. I can't afford a real Picasso but I could afford a print to enjoy. It's the same so far with reps.

In the end it's about jewelery not time keeping. If it was about time keeping, I'd just use my iPhone or computer to tell the time. That then leads me to, if piece of jewelery A is 99.5% identical to piece of jewelery B (the gen), then what is the point of spending your money on B? I guess I'm making the anti-Fraken case here. Still, in the end it's about jewelery and bling and wrist decoration and all that goes with that. Nothing more. So, whatever floats your boat!

I stare at my own watches, so when I am out on the road, look out for this.

I want to stare a good dial. No happy feet, no sub par lume. It's just the next level. I do the same for anything I upgrade. I looked at my HTC Hero for over a year and after frankening it with kanged Roms I just had to upgrade the screen, then the case. Then I bought a new phone. Now I have frankened it too. Why? Cause I am a tinkerer.

 

[giobo]

R2 do you improve your cars also??I think the answer will be definatelly yes..lol

 

[believer123]

IMO, "Frakening" is really a personal choice. I really have not realized the value in a Frakened watch to this point (mostly because I suck at watch repair/modding), but it is not totally out of the question for me.

IMO it is really more about the collecting, as opposed to the money. I can honestly see a Frakened Sub down the line for me, as my skills increase.

 

[dmacnz]

Also if the Rep of the watch you want is no good, frankening is th sonly solution if the Gen is unobtainable!

 

[Bigjule111]

Not me. I would do it because it completes the package. I like my watches to come in a nice box when I receive it. Have I done this for my reps? No sir. I don't have the room for it and there is a very small amount of people, like me who would even appreciate it so I would inevitably have to re-sell the box separately anyway. Now when I do buy Gens, I like them to have all the original accessories including the watch. But maybe your right, there are some asshat's out there who would do as you suggest and that would give us all a bad name. Sucks.



I stare at my own watches, so when I am out on the road, look out for this.

I want to stare a good dial. No happy feet, no sub par lume. It's just the next level. I do the same for anything I upgrade. I looked at my HTC Hero for over a year and after frankening it with kanged Roms I just had to upgrade the screen, then the case. Then I bought a new phone. Now I have frankened it too. Why? Cause I am a tinkerer.

This is so true. I drive staring at ny watch Lol Not healthy Just the enjoyment u get when u accomplished your project. I stare and I keep staring. If I no there's a flaw it just eats at me. So to keep it easy on the eyes I correct what needs to b corrected

 

[thorne]

......... But what I value most is the fact that my son will get to have that watch that his dad wore for all those years somewhere down the line. He'll be able to carry around a little piece of what his dad liked for as long as he chooses to. Or he pawns it for a skateboard once I'm gone. :biglaugh:

Heh, the pawning bit was priceless.

 

[007omegafan]

I'm replacing the bezel, dial, hands, and date wheel on my SMP chrono... after doing so, with the exception of the chrono pushers, it will be virtually indistinguishable from the genuine piece... so I figure why not. The parts plus labor to "perfect it" will roughly double the cost of the rep (285) but it will make it significantly more accurate..

 

[1kenny1kenny1]

Oh yes it does !

 

[clevelandy]

I know this is an old thread, but it seems to me the value is not in terms of dollars and cents, but more in the sense of accomplishment or artistic expression. If I can paint a perfect replication of a masterpiece it shows my mastery and discipline and the skill. It does not make it worth more or less or bring more or less satisfaction. It just is. Why does not matter nearly as much as proving to myself I can or sharing that with others.

 

[Rudy40]

Im getting ready to get into franken my first watch. Am i doing it becouse everybody else is doing it.Kinda!
But really i want to build a sub that i will be happy with. I am going to take a TC and turn it in to a money pit.I cant wait. I will have to sneek around my wife and lie!
And try to justify where my money is going. Its like black opps for me. Sneeking around like a school boy. OOh the thrill!
And then one day it will be done. And i will be doing the same thing again.
When i get bord with the TC. And then build a PO or AP.
Is it worth it? HELL YEAH! Where else your going to have this much fun.
Besides playing stink finger with my wife.LOL

:woot:

 

[ressmeplz]

While browsing another boards F/S list I noticed a couple of very highly modded Panny's that were for sale at astrological (for reps!!) prices....One was $3500!!...And BTW they're both almost a month into the sales process..
The rationale given for the pricing was that they had been extensively modded, and the alleged cost for the various mods were listed and totalled to arrive at the asking price.
I guess the real question is: Does spending vastly inflated OEM prices on frankening parts actually increase the REAL VALUE of the STILL fake watch proportionally...???
IMNSFHO, if somebody blows $1000.00 on OEM Panny or Omega, or even Rolex parts, The REAL value of those parts doesn't in any way inflate the REAL value of a $200.00 REPLICA watch to $ 1200.00!! No matter how much you spend, it'll ALWAYS be a FAKE!!
And BTW...Who's got Jimmy Fu's phone # so we can verify those vast number of case sets and CG's that keep popping up in FS threads..???...;-)...;-)

Totally agree!
If you have too spend much money, go for a gen

 

[frankt8242]

you can tell that you've "made it" in the repworld..>>>

When you get necroposted!!:cheers::cheers::thumbsup:

 

[davylloyd]

The fact that this debate has rolled on for 8 pages just shows the strength of feeling, for and against......and it's as timeless as the 'Rolex or Omega' nugget.

In a group of 50,000 members, I take it as read that there will be people who have mastered their modding skills, know how to source the parts, and then just do it for the sheer joy of doing it.

There will be people who buy a franken built by somebody else, just to own something that's as close to the gen as anything can be.

At the other end of the scale will be the (hopefully very few) people who are nothing more than shameless scam artists, either running around passing off their rep as the real thing, or worse still selling them as such.

Some members, as stated on these pages, will take the view that unless a Rolex came from the Rolex factory, then it doesn't matter what parts it contains, it's still a rep.

Trot out all the cliches - 'variety is the spice of life', 'to each his own', 'live and let live' - they all work. They are, after all, the reason we are all here reading this thread.